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The universities in Bulgaria operate in a very dynamic environment. The Ministry of Education and Science (MES) changes annually the requirements that their systems must meet. Changes can be small and affect only parts of the information systems in use or impose fundamental changes. To cope with this challenge, each university has a choice - either to move to a high level of digitalization or to maintain a minimum digitization of processes, so that no correction is needed in them, thus increasing the hours of work in which there are minimal automation. Developed universities are looking to increase digitalization, but the high cost of custom software products may be an obstacle here. The value of purchasing and maintaining complex software product would be a burden on the budget even for the largest universities in the country. This publication describes a model for dealing with this problem - the establishing of a department within the university, which has the freedom to work, both on internal and external projects. The positions and roles required for the operation of such a model are described. Different methodologies for software development are analysed - waterfall model, agile development, Kanban etc. Their strengths and weaknesses are pointed out so a proper combination is chosen to meet the needs of the customers and to suit the capabilities of the department. In order to demonstrate the results of the mentioned model, couple successfully developed, implemented and maintained projects are listed, as well as the deadlines that have been set in them. The reason these findings are important is that the model could be applicable in other state universities in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The universities in Bulgaria operate in a very dynamic environment. The Ministry of Education and Science (MES) changes annually the requirements that their systems must meet. Changes can be small and affect only parts of the information systems in use or impose fundamental changes. To cope with this challenge, each university has a choice - either to move to a high level of digitalization or to maintain a minimum digitization of processes, so that no correction is needed in them, thus increasing the hours of work in which there are minimal automation. Developed universities are looking to increase digitalization, but the high cost of custom software products may be an obstacle here. The value of purchasing and maintaining complex software product would be a burden on the budget even for the largest universities in the country. This publication describes a model for dealing with this problem - the establishing of a department within the university, which has the freedom to work, both on internal and external projects. The positions and roles required for the operation of such a model are described. Different methodologies for software development are analysed - waterfall model, agile development, Kanban etc. Their strengths and weaknesses are pointed out so a proper combination is chosen to meet the needs of the customers and to suit the capabilities of the department. In order to demonstrate the results of the mentioned model, couple successfully developed, implemented and maintained projects are listed, as well as the deadlines that have been set in them. The reason these findings are important is that the model could be applicable in other state universities in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]